The filming of Killers of the Flower Moon, which lasted almost 7 months, was not easy for the actors! There was even some slight friction between DiCaprio and De Niro.
Released in theaters on October 18, Killers of the Flower Moon is the highly anticipated new feature film by Martin Scorsese. On its first day of operation in France, did this monumental fresco take control of the box office? We revealed it to you in our article of October 19!
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Carried by Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, the story transports us to the beginning of the 20th century. Oil brought fortune to the Osage people who, overnight, became one of the richest in the world.
The wealth of these Native Americans immediately attracted the lust of disreputable whites who intrigued, extorted, and stole as much Osage money as possible before resorting to murder.
DiCaprio plays Ernest, a former soldier who returns to Oklahoma to work with his uncle William, played by De Niro. The latter will push him into the arms of Mollie (Lily Gladstone), a young Osage, in order to extract his inheritance.
The two actors, brought together for the first time in front of the camera of maestro Martin Scorsese, are renowned for their demands and their perfectionism. However, although very uncompromising about his acting methods, De Niro was annoyed by DiCaprio’s incessant improvisations on set.
In an interview given to Wall Street Journal, Scorsese told this amusing anecdote about his two favorite actors. Very involved in his role, DiCaprio very often attempted improvisations during dialogue scenes between his character, Ernest, and that of Robert De Niro, William.
Paramount
ENDLESS IMPRO!
“It was endless! Endless!”, confided Scorsese about DiCaprio’s improvs. This tended to really annoy De Niro, who didn’t understand why he was doing this. Additionally, the former Titanic star likes to talk about scenes before shooting them and discuss the characters’ motivations. De Niro being naturally taciturn, this tendency of DiCaprio to talk too much irritated the hero of Taxi Driver a little.
“Sometimes, Bob De Niro really didn’t want to talk. Every once in a while, we’d look at each other and roll our eyes. Then we’d explain to Leo that we didn’t need to add that dialogue, for example.”remembers Martin Scorsese.
Ultimately, DiCaprio was a little too consumed by Ernest, who “talks too much”according to Mollie, who does not hesitate to tell him frankly in the extract below.
In any case, despite these small tensions, the two actors delivered an exceptional performance, according to the critics and the first spectators of Killers of the Flower Moon. This is the 10th collaboration between De Niro and Scorsese and the 6th between DiCaprio and the New York director.
The 80-year-old director had to deal with the differences in the characters of his two muses on the set of Killers of the Flower Moon:
“I quickly understood that I could work with Leo if I talked a lot with him. His method, in my eyes, requires constant conversation, exploration of every moment”he stressed.
“With De Niro, it’s a little different. Yes, we talk, but then there’s a period of calm. They’re not afraid of acting, and are ready to try anything”concluded Martin Scorsese.